Fan Bingbing Confirmed to Star in Iron Man 4

LOS ANGELES — Following her captivating two-minute appearance in Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios announced that Fan Bingbing has signed on to reprise her role as “Dr. Wu’s Wife” in Iron Man 4, the next installment of the billion dollar superhero franchise.

“To be honest, we weren’t expecting much from the China-specific scenes,” said producer Kevin Feige. “But her unforgettable performance as Dr. Wu’s Wife really convinced us that this was a character we needed to explore in subsequent films.”

Shane Black, who directed Iron Man 3 and is slated to helm the sequel said, “We only gave Fan two pointless scenes shoehorned in to cheat money out of Chinese investors, but she did amazing things with them.”

“Dr. Wu’s Wife is a central character in the comics and canonical in the Marvel Universe.”

Indeed, critics are comparing Fan’s short but compelling star turn to Beatrice Straight’s in Network and Judy Dench’s in Shakespeare in Love, both of whom won Oscars for their attenuated performances.

Likewise, fans are hailing the decision to include Dr. Wu’s Wife in the sequel.

“Dr. Wu’s Wife is a central character in the comics and canonical in the Marvel Universe,” said Jamie Lyndon, a writer for Comics Alliance and longtime Iron Man fan.

“She’s the one who restores Daredevil’s sight and gives Captain America a life-saving hip replacement. It’s great to finally see her brought to life on the big screen.”

Responding to fans, Black promised that Dr. Wu’s Wife will have at least three scenes in the next installment, one of which might even make it to the international cut so hardcore fans won’t have to fly to China to see the China-specific scenes.

At press time, executives were also in talks for a spin-off franchise called Dr. Wu’s Wife, to be released exclusively in China.